The Book of Ephesians part 10 – Week 49 / December 3rd

by admin

Paul’s final greetings

“Peace to the brethren, and love with faith,
from God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ….”
Ephesians 6:21-24

A person’s final greeting is important as it very often conveys what is “burning” in his or her heart. For instance, when Jesus gave His final concluding words of greeting to His disciples, as recorded in Acts chapter one and the synoptic Gospels, He communicated to His friends what was of utmost importance to Him. They were to go forth into the world and preach the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. This remains His priority.

Here to Paul says some things that are warm, meaningful and challenging and therefore worthy of taking note of. He stresses the blessing of fellowship and what it means to be the family of God. This is his great theological high point since, as we have noted, he has dealt with the great theme of the mystical union that exists between Christ and His Church and its practical outworking in believer’s lives and then he concludes with words that are gracious and heart-warming indeed. His theme is, “What we mean and should be to one another.”

1. We are beloved V21a
Beloved means “embraced with much loved!’ This is indeed a marvelous way in which to describe our relationship with one another in the family of God. It carries with it a sense of fellowship and community and of an interaction that is caring and supportive through all of life’s joys and troubles. The local church is a wonderful place and its fellowship should be rich and encouraging!
2. We are faithful V21b-22
Being “faithful”, like Tychicus was, means being dependable and consistent in all of our commitments to one another in the Body of Christ. This type of person is not easy to find and they are truly the foundation upon which the local church is built. We need faithful people who will become the ministers of the Lord.
3. We are committed to Jesus V23
Jesus gives those who are totally committed to Him His great love and faith. The one has to do with character and the other with service. His life in us cares for others and drives us to places of service. This is not a gift of faith that we are talking about here but a walk of faith by which we live, move and act every day. Scripture states that the “just shall live by faith”, meaning that every day the Jesus follower is committed to living out his life in real fellowship with Christ.
4. We are dependent V24
The Christian walk is one that is wholly dependent on the grace of God. What God in Christ calls us to is in fact impossible to attain. We need something greater and more powerful than ourselves in order to overcome the power of in-grained sin in our lives. God, our Father, has given us this grace in Jesus and therefore we can be all things that He wants us to be. The Apostle Peter wrote that we have received everything we need “for life and godliness in Christ Jesus.” Christians should never fail continuously because Christ lives in them. This in turn means that we are to cast ourselves upon Him every day and by so doing recognize our total dependency upon Him. It’s when we forget this that we resort to doing things in our own strength and fail!

It is with these final words of greeting that Paul concludes this remarkable letter to the believers at Ephesus. We would do well to study this book time and time again because its teaching is profound and life changing.

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries

2013Devotional